Fast track patent service speeds up innovation

A company in Wuhan, Hubei province, recently obtained patent authorization for its core technology more than a year ahead of schedule, achieving a breakthrough in mass production in the field.

Benefiting from patent navigation services and a fast protection green channel, Wuhan's MEMSonics Technologies Co Ltd independently developed core technology for radio frequency filters and has now received patent protection, allowing the company to "quickly mass-produce innovative achievements and seize market opportunities".

"The 'green channel' of the Wuhan Intellectual Property Protection Center can significantly shorten the review period, saving more than a year and reducing the review period by over 50 percent.

"This fast track greatly enhances the efficiency of patent applications for companies, helping them seize the initiative in a market of rapid technological iteration," said Li Junnan, the company's senior patent engineer.

The company's main product, radio frequency filters, is one of the core components of smartphones.

In addition to smartphones, radio frequency filters are widely used in electronic devices with wireless communication functions, such as tablets and wireless routers.

Their role is to filter signal frequencies in communication channels, allowing signals of specific frequencies to pass through.

By 2024, the Chinese mobile radio frequency filter market had reached a value of over $5 billion.

MEMSonics previously produced over 2,000 radio frequency filters each month, but with the help of the new patent and the completion of a new production line, the company will increase this capacity to 10,000 wafers per month, significantly expanding production.

The rapid patent application is highly beneficial for companies. In the fast-paced radio frequency filter industry, timely patent applications help protect the latest research and development achievements, minimize the risk of technology leakage and assist companies with strategic planning, according to Li.

The process for obtaining invention patents typically takes 2 to 3 years without a fast-track option.

Pre-examining patents is a service offered by local intellectual property protection centers for patent applications that request an expedited review before formal submission to the National Intellectual Property Administration.

When patents are pre-examined by these local centers, the National Intellectual Property Administration will prioritize their review, thereby shortening the overall processing time.

In recent years, Wuhan has been striving to optimize pre-examination services to accelerate the approval of patent technologies in key areas.

Since June 2019, the Wuhan Intellectual Property Protection Center has established two major rapid pre-examination channels: one for the optoelectronic information field and another for high-end equipment manufacturing.

These channels have facilitated the swift protection of key technologies in Wuhan's optoelectronic information and high-end equipment manufacturing industries, promoting industrial development.